Double Skate
by kelbebop-phoebenpiper
Summary: Sharpay goes on her first "date" with Zeke, which Chad and Ryan end up "crashing". -- Chapter Four posted 06/11/09
1. Chapter 1

**Double Skate** -- by phoebenpiper

_Chapter One_

Ryan stopped in the open doorway of his sister's bedroom. "Is that what you're wearing?" he asked.

"Yes!" Sharpay momentarily glanced away from the mirror to glare at him. "Why?!"

"Well," Ryan began tentatively, "it's a skirt."

"Well DUH, Ryan! It doesn't take a 'fashionista' to figure THAT out."

Ryan rolled his eyes. "What I mean is, do you really think it's WISE to be wearing a skirt?"

"It's our first official date, Ryan! I have to look nice!"

"'Date'?" Ryan raised a skeptical eyebrow. "You said you were just accompanying Zeke to his little sister's birthday party – that sounds more like glorified babysitting than an actual date."

"It's a DATE, Ryan!" Sharpay snapped, clearly in a mood. "Zeke asked me, he's paying, we're spending quality time together – that's a date. Look it up!"

"Okay okay, it's a date," Ryan conceded. "But...I still think you should rethink the skirt."

Sharpay rolled her eyes and sighed in frustration, but Ryan jumped in again before the yelling could start. "I mean, it's the first time you've ever been roller skating, sis. Aren't you afraid you might...you know...fall down?"

Sharpay laughed. "It's just roller skating, Ryan. So I haven't been before – so what? Little kids roller skate. I'm sure I'll be fine."

"SOME little kids roller skate, Shar. But SOME little kids also play the violin, swing on trapezes, and skateboard – it doesn't mean YOU can."

"It's just SKATING, Ryan – it's not rocket science!"

Ryan sighed. When his sister got like this, there was no dealing with her – it was best just to leave her – and her attitude – alone. "Well, have fun," he said halfheartedly, starting off down the hallway.

"Ry?"

Ryan recognized the vulnerable tone in his twin's voice and instantly returned to the door. "Yeah, Shar?"

"I look okay, right? I mean, the skirt looks nice?"

Ryan could hear the nervousness and uncertainty in her voice, and his heart melted. "You look beautiful, sis," he said, walking into her room and giving her a warm hug. "Zeke's gonna be blown away."

Ryan and his sister shared the tender embrace for several moments before Sharpay impatiently snapped, "You're messing up my hair, Ryan."

Ryan quickly released his hold on his sister and stepped back. He knew how hard it was for Shar to simply LET her guard down, let alone KEEP it down. And at least now he knew how much this date really meant to her.

"Really, Shar – you look perfect. Have a great time."

Sharpay flashed him a smug smile, all hints of her recent vulnerability neatly tucked back away. "Oh, I will!"

---


	2. Chapter 2

**Double Skate – Part 2** -- by phoebenpiper

As Zeke pulled his dad's minivan into the parking lot, Sharpay breathed a sigh of relief. Now that they were finally here, surely things would improve.

_'At least they better!'_ Sharpay thought with frustration.

Their date had not gotten off to an auspicious start, and it was all Zeke's fault! Instead of greeting her with an enthusiastic compliment, his first words to her had been, "You're wearing a SKIRT? I thought you said you'd never been skating before." Ryan had overheard and immediately launched into a diatribe about how Sharpay was too stubborn to listen to reason. And Zeke hadn't even come to her defense! What the hell? Didn't Zeke know that he's supposed to support his DATE, not her annoying brother?

But that wasn't all – Sharpay was also annoyed with the girls in the backseat. Sharpay wondered if Zanessa was adoped because she was NOTHING like her kind-hearted big brother – she was loud and bossy and completely full of herself. And her friends were pathetic sycophants who fawned over every ridiculous thing she said. And Nessa was such an idiot – she kept going on and on about Hannah Montana's FABULOUS fashion sense! Sharpay had to bite her tongue to keep from telling the birthday girl exactly what she thought of her!

But now that Sharpay was no longer going to be trapped inside the van with the girls, things would be better. She and Zeke could have some quality time together, just the two of them. And she'd finally get some food.

Sharpay knew that much of her annoyance with the girls stemmed from her low blood sugar. Of course, that's what she got for not eating all day! But her stomach had been in such knots all morning that she hadn't been able to eat, and it was now catching up with her.

She wasn't really sure why she'd been so nervous about this date, changing her outfit over and over. After all, everyone at East High knew how much Zeke doted on her, so why shouldn't their date go well? But now that Sharpay was actually starting to like Zeke, she was worried that his adoration would come to an abrupt end. This wasn't unprecedented, since that exact thing had happened with her and Troy. Not that Troy had every really DOTED on her, but right when she'd started to really like him, Gabriella had come along and ruined everything! So this date with Zeke had become really important to Sharpay because she wanted to prove, to herself at least, that she could truly be desired by someone she liked.

And the way Zeke was eyeing her legs as they walked together towards the entrance to the rink certainly suggested desire, convincing Sharpay she'd made the fashion choice, despite Ryan's comments! And as Zeke opened the door for her, she flashed him a radiant smile...

which instantly faded as she stepped inside.

"What year is it in here – 1979?!" Sharpay asked, not quite believing what she saw. Not only the entire floor but all the walls as well were covered with hideous red and gold carpet!

Zeke laughed. "Yeah, my dad swears that they haven't changed the décor in here since HE was a kid."

Sharpay stared at Zeke, aghast. How could he joke about this? The décor wasn't just an eyesore – it was an abomination!

_'Hopefully the rink itself will be better,'_ Sharpay thought to herself.

Unfortunately her hopes were unfounded. If anything, the rink was WORSE than the outer lobby. The same hideous carpet adorned the walls and the benches, but the carpet on the floor came in two clashing designs: burgundy with gold 70's-style splotches and red with teal 80's-style geometric designs. Tilted mirrors hung from the ceiling, as did ages old neon flags of sailboats and balloons! Above the rink were cheesy blue and orange lights that flashed crazily around several disco balls! And along the far wall was a giant mural of a swamp and a sunken pirate ship that looked like a scene from _Pirates of the Caribbean_!

Sharpay was still standing in the doorway, her mouth hanging open, when Zeke handed her a piece of paper.

"What's this?" Sharpay asked, glancing down blankly at the receipt in her hand.

"It's for your skate rental," Zeke explained, leading Sharpay over to the counter where his sister's friends were already gathered.

The gruff man waiting on the girls finished with them and then turned to Sharpay, barking, "Size?"

"Well, it depends on the brand," Sharpay answered. "I mean, normally I wear a 7 ½, but in Manolo--"

"These are men's sizes," the guy rudely interrupted.

"What?!" It was bad enough that she had to wear tacky, previously-worn skates, but MEN'S?!

"She'll try a six," Zeke said cheerfully, "and I'll take a thirteen."

The guy pulled down two pairs of skates and set them on the carpeted counter.

Sharpay took in the tan skates with dark brown laces and neon orange wheels and shook her head. "These simply aren't gonna work," Sharpay explained to the guy. "See, the colors don't really go with my outfit. Do you have anything in pink or fuchsia?"

The guy merely rolled his eyes and wandered off.

"EXCUSE me!" Sharpay called after him, appalled at his rudeness.

Zeke put a comforting hand on her back. "These are all they've got," he explained. "And I think they'll look fine with your outfit."

"You would," Sharpay grumbled under her breath.

Zeke picked up both pairs of skates and started to lead his date further into the rink when suddenly something caught Sharpay's eye.

"What about THOSE skates?" she asked, pointing to a man entering the rink with skates that looked like Ryan's shiny patent leather dance shoes.

"Oh, those are CUSTOM skates," Zeke explained.

"'Custom'?" Sharpay liked the sound of that.

Zeke nodded and led her over to a glass counter that housed assorted wheels, metal plates, laces, and pom-poms. "You can get skates made the way you want here. You can even have your own personal shoes made into skates. But they're pretty pricey," he said, pointing to a sign that read, _"Custom skates: starting at $250."_

Sharpay laughed – of course good fashion had a cost, but $250 was a mere trifle for shoes. Finally things were starting to go right with this date. She just needed to get some fashionable skates and everything else would be fine.

"Excuse me," she called out to the man behind the counter. When he didn't respond, she raised her voice, "EXCUSE me! I need some skates made for my shoes. Pronto!"

The guy, who seemed as surly as the one who'd waited on them earlier, glanced over the counter at Sharpay's pink heels. "We can't retrofit those," he said dully, shaking his head.

"What?!" Sharpay couldn't believe what she was hearing. "You can't do Jimmy Choo's?!"

The guy sighed. "No, we can't do stilettos. We need a bigger sole to attach the plate to."

Sharpay was appalled. "You mean I'd have to wear WEDGES?!" Everyone knew that wedges were almost as big a fashion faux pas as the hideous skates Zeke was still holding.

"And Sharpay," Zeke pointed out helpfully, "even if you HAD wedges or whatever, you couldn't get them custom-made in time to wear them today. So I'm afraid you're stuck with these," he said, holding up the tan and orange skates.

"Fine!" Sharpay snapped, frustrated that Zeke wouldn't even fight for what she wanted. "Let's just go."

Zeke smiled, clearly oblivious to her bad mood. "C'mon," he said cheerfully, leading her across the lobby towards one of the enclosed party rooms where the girls had already disappeared. "The pizzas and pop should be ready."

Sharpay smiled at the thought of food. Surely she's feel better after she ate, and then she'd be able to face putting on her hideous skates. Then she and Zeke could finally have their romantic afternoon together.

The wonderful aroma of warm pizza greeted them as they entered the small party room, making Sharpay's stomach growl. But as she sat down at the table, feeling like she could eat an entire pie herself, she noticed that all three pizzas had pineapple on them. PINEAPPLE!

This was turning out to be the worst date ever!

---


	3. Chapter 3

**Double Skate -- Part 3** -- by phoebenpiper

---

*****DING DONG*****

"I'll get it," Ryan shouted, leaping down the stairs three at a time. He'd been waiting over an hour for Chad to arrive, and now that his boyfriend was finally here, he didn't want to waste a minute of time they could be spending together. But before Ryan flung open the front door, he took a deep yoga breath to calm himself down – the last thing he wanted was to appear too eager.

"Hey," he calmly greeted the boy on the doorstep.

"Hey yourself," Chad said, stepping inside. "Sorry I'm later than I said." Chad rolled his eyes in annoyance, which was all the explanation Ryan needed.

"No worries," Ryan said, shrugging it off as if he hadn't been counting the minutes since noon. He shut the door behind Chad and then turned to lead them both upstairs, but Chad stepped in front of him.

"Is that all the greeting I'm gonna get?" Chad teased.

Ryan couldn't help but smile. His eagerness overtook him, and he grabbed Chad into a tight embrace, kissing him long and hard.

Ryan was so caught up in the feel of Chad's lips against his that he didn't hear his mother enter the foyer.

"Oh Chad, I'm glad you're finally here."

Ryan instantly let go of Chad and took a step away from his boyfriend, trying to cool off.

"Oh, uh, hey Mrs. Evans," Chad stammered, clearly still flustered from the passionate kiss. "Yeah, I meant to be here earlier, but..." Chad rolled his eyes. "You know how moms can be."

Ryan couldn't believe Chad had just said that to HIS mom, but she simply laughed it off.

"I certainly do," she said, patting her son on the shoulder. "I'm just glad you're here now – Ryan's been pacing the floor for the past hour."

"Mom!" Ryan could feel his face flushing with humiliation.

"There's no need to be embarrassed, Ducky – it's good for Chad to know how much you like him."

Ryan wished the floor of the foyer would open up and swallow him. Or maybe his mother. He stole a quick glance at Chad, who was smiling smugly, and decided maybe Chad should be the one to disappear.

"I'm off to my bridge club," Mrs. Evans continued. "I should be home for supper. You two boys have fun this afternoon."

"Oh, we will!" Chad said, winking at Ryan when his mother wasn't looking.

Ryan felt his face growing redder as he thought about what the afternoon had in store for them. "Uh, yeah, you have fun too, Mom."

"Bye, Sweetie," Mrs. Evans said before leaning over to whisper in Ryan's ear, "I'd kiss you goodbye, but I don't want to embarrass you."

Ryan laughed – it was too late for that!

"Goodbye, Chad," she said, sweeping gracefully out the front door.

"Bye, Mom," Ryan called after her before shutting the door. Then, turning around, he smiled at Chad. "So where were we?"

Chad grinned smugly. "You were about to tell me how you kept pacing the floor." He laughed, adding, "Really, Dude, you're pathetic, you know that? You miss me that much? I mean, we just talked on the phone like, what, fourteen hours ago?"

"It's not exactly your VOICE I've been missing." Ryan hungrily kissed Chad, eager to wipe the smirk from his boyfriend's face.

Chad was clearly caught off-guard, but after a moment Ryan felt his boyfriend slowly pushing him backwards. Once Ryan was pressed against the door, he used his new-found leverage to deepen the kiss further. Soon the only thing in Ryan's universe was Chad: the feel of Chad's tongue exploring his mouth, the tickle of Chad's hair as it brushed against his cheek, the touch of Chad's strong hands against his back, the heat of Chad's body pressed against his.

But the sound of a throat clearing brought the rest of the world immediately back into focus. Chad let go, quickly putting space between them as Ryan turned to face his father.

"Hey, Dad," Ryan said awkwardly, noticing that his father's face looked as red as Ryan's felt.

"Hello, son. Uh, Chad."

Chad gulped nervously before acknowledging, "Mr. Evans."

"Uh, did you need something, Dad?" Ryan asked, not knowing what else to say.

"Just the front door." Mr. Evans nodded towards the door Ryan had only moments before been passionately pressed against.

Ryan instantly leapt away from it, mumbling, "Sorry, Dad."

"Don't apologize to ME, son – apologize to the Fire Marshall."

It took Ryan a moment to realize that his dad was attempting to crack a joke to lighten the mood. Ryan smiled, gently joking back, "I promise to keep the fire exits clear in the future, Dad."

"That's my boy!" Mr. Evans said, smiling lovingly at his son. "I'm off to the golf course for the afternoon, but I'll be home for supper." Mr. Evans opened the door and started out with his bag of golf clubs in hand.

"Bye, Dad. Break a golf club," he teased, modifying the theatrical phrase for good luck.

"Thanks, son. I hope you and...your boyfriend...have a good afternoon."

"Thanks, Dad." Ryan shut the door and then turned to Chad, who had stayed surprisingly quiet during the exchange.

"Dude!" Chad finally said. "Did he just...?"

Ryan nodded, smiling. "Call you my 'boyfriend'? Yep."

"That's...amazing!" Chad said, clearly flabbergasted at Mr. Evans's progress. "That's...HUGE!"

Ryan smirked. "That's what I always DREAMED my boyfriend would say," he teased, instantly taking up where they'd left off.

"Dude," Chad said, struggling to get his words out between Ryan's aggressive kisses. "Sharpay?"

Ryan stopped abruptly and stared at his boyfriend. "Okay, see, THAT'S what I always had NIGHTMARES about – someone calling out my sister's name."

Chad laughed. "No, Dude. I mean, is she here? Is SHE liable to walk in on us now? Because I don't think I can handle anymore interruptions."

"We're all alone," Ryan said, giving Chad a teasing peck on the lips before adding, "and we've got the house entirely to ourselves until supper."

"And THAT'S exactly what I always dreamed my boyfriend would say," Chad joked before resuming the kiss.

---


	4. Chapter 4

Skating Part 4 – by phoebenpiper

Sharpay tottered shakily along towards the rink, holding on for dear life to the waist-high carpeted wall. She had never felt so clumsy in her life! _'Surely it'll be easier once I get on the rink itself,'_ she thought, watching the other skaters instantly become more graceful the moment they left the rough carpet.

But stepping onto the rink, she immediately discovered that being on the frictionless polished wood floor made her even more unsteady.

_'How can this be so difficult?'_ she wondered in frustration. _'They skate in a Weber musical __–__ how hard can it be?'_

It was hard enough that it was taking every muscle in her body to prevent herself from falling to the ground. She couldn't believe that people did this for fun! It seemed more like a masochistic form of self-torture. And this opinion didn't change as her skates suddenly started to slide out from under her. Reaching out to try to stop her fall, she slid down the carpeted wall, receiving a nasty rug burn on her arm for her efforts.

"Ow!" she mumbled under her breath, wondering why Zeke wasn't around to help her up. But she knew why -- two of Nessa's friends had grabbed onto Zeke and dragged him off the moment his skates were on. So Sharpay realized she would just have to fend for herself.

As she pulled herself back up, attempting to put her feet back under her where they belonged, a silver-haired man in a striped polyester shirt skidded to a stop in front of her.

"Let me guess," he said with a cheesy grin. "First time?"

"No, I'm an freaking Olympian!" Sharpay snapped impatiently.

The man just chuckled. "My name's Dave. And you are...?"

_'Annoyed! Frustrated! Pissed off!'_ "Sharpay."

"Well, Sharpay, the first thing we need to work on is your feet," Dave said matter-of-factly. "They shouldn't be so far apart. Put your heels together, like this."

Sharpay had no desire to listen to this cheeseball. Yet she was in no real position to argue. And this "Dave", whoever he was, seemed to know what he was doing. So Sharpay struggled to follow his instructions, trying her best to put her feet together as Dave was demonstrating.

"Good," Dave encouraged. "Now let go of the wall."

Sharpay did, but immediately her wheels started to roll. She flailed her arms, trying to prevent herself from falling.

"Stop flailing," Dave instructed. "Flailing doesn't help, it only disrupts your balance more."

_'That's what HE thinks,'_ Sharpay thought as she desperately grabbed onto the wall again, unable to regain her balance without it.

"Instead," Dave continued as if nothing had happened, "put your arms out to your sides like you're pushing down on an imaginary table. Like this."

He demonstrated, and Sharpay did her best to imitate him. But like before, the moment she let go of the wall, her feet started to roll, this time in opposite directions.

"Don't flail!" Dave scolded again as Sharpay struggled to keep her balance. "Hands on a table."

Sharpay really tried to do as she was told. But putting her hands on an imaginary table was NOT helping her keep her balance NOR stopping her feet from rolling apart. And as her feet continued to move in opposite directions, she grew afraid that she'd end up in the splits if she waited any longer for the so-called imaginary table to help, so she finally gave up and frantically grabbed for the wall.

Dave chuckled. "Okay, let's try something else," he said, nonplussed. "Face the wall, feet together as before."

Sharpay was tired of trying to follow Dave's directions. But she was also tired of being at the total mercy of gravity. So she struggled once again to pull herself upright and then turned towards the wall.

This new position felt familiar to her – it reminded her of ballet class. Except in ballet class she lightly touched a wooden barre instead of desperately clutching a dirty carpeted wall. And in ballet class she was able to admire her own graceful reflection in the full-length mirror instead of staring at a noisy snack bar full of bratty kids. But if she could thrive from years at the barre, she could surely endure a few minutes of this. She tried to block the snack bar distractions from her mind and focus instead on keeping her balance, which was much easier in this position since her rubber toe-stops rested against the wall, preventing her skates from rolling away.

"Remember – hands on an imaginary table," Dave reminded, and Sharpay did as she was told, letting go of the wall and remaining standing upright in place for a change.

"Excellent! Now what I want you to do is bend your knees," he said, demonstrating the desired position as Sharpay copied him, "and waddle like a duck."

Sharpay immediately straightened back up. "Seriously?!" She hoped he was merely pulling her leg as some sort of skating virgin prank.

Unfortunately he wasn't. "Lift each foot in turn, back and forth, like this," he said, showing her the position she needed. And as he demonstrated, Sharpay realized he indeed WAS waddling like a duck.

"See?" Dave asked, continuing to waddle. "This is the basic movement you need to skate. Left, right, left, right. Quack quack quack." He stopped and looked at Sharpay expectantly. "Your turn."

Sharpay sighed, rebent her knees, and tentatively lifted her feet one at a time. The skates made her feet heavy, and she had trouble keeping her balance on her wheels, despite the wall holding them in place. But she did her best to waddle like Dave was demonstrating, softly clicking her wheels against the rink as she carefully stepped back and forth.

"Good waddling," Dave encouraged. "But I can't HEAR you."

Sharpay attempted to lift her feet higher so her wheels made a louder clack when she set them down.

But apparently that's not what he meant. "C'mon. Let me hear you. 'Quack quack quack.' Say it."

Sharpay couldn't believe this was happening to her! But having come this far, she couldn't see a way to get out of this gracefully, so she sighed and mumbled under her breath, "Quack quack quack."

Yet despite this humiliation, Sharpay was feeling better about being on her skates. Her feet were staying together, and she was able to keep upright without flailing her arms around. This humiliating teaching technique was actually working!

"Groovy!" Dave enthused. "You're a natural! And now that you have the motion down, let's try it for reals. Turn away from the wall and let's give it a go."

Sharpay smiled, pleased that she'd come so far in such a short amount of time. She turned away from the wall...

and immediately found herself on the ground, her butt throbbing from the sudden impact!

She was still on the ground when a guy skidded to a stop next to her.

"Newbie?" the new guy asked Dave as if she wasn't even there.

Dave nodded. "Wanna take over for a bit?"

"Sure thing," the new guy said.

As Dave started to skate away backwards, he gave Sharpay two thumbs up. "You're doing great, Sharpay. Keep trying."

Once Dave was gone, the new guy, who was balding and had a bad 1970's moustache, turned to Sharpay and introduced himself. "I'm Dave. And the first thing we need to teaching you is how to fall."

Sharpay rolled her eyes and rubbed her sore bottom. It seemed to her that falling was the LAST thing she needed lessons in!

---


End file.
